The Iron Lady
Margaret Thatcher earned a nickname during the cold war. Her nickname was The Iron Lady. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, she was a tough willed woman who knew what it took to govern.
Here in Alachua County, we have our own Iron Lady. She is one of the most respectful people that I know. She cares about doing her city’s business in an orderly fashion, and about respecting the rights of the citizens in the face of those that would disrupt and create chaos.
That lady is Alachua’s Mayor, Jean Calderwood.
At the Monday, June 19th meeting of the Alachua City Commission, Charlie Grapski inappropriately called for a parliamentary inquiry and then a point of order. It was inappropriate because Charlie Grapski is not a member of the commission. The time for citizen comment is during the citizen comment time. The City of Alachua has two of those. One near the front of the commission meeting and one at the end.
No, the rules don’t apply to Charlie Grapski. Other citizens wait – Mr. Grapski stands up and shouts. In fact, he was shouting so loud that he never heard the Mayor ask the Chief of Police to dis-invite him from the meeting. On blog postings during the last two days, Mr. Grapski insisted that the Mayor never asked to have him arrested or removed from the meeting. The video tells a different story. They Mayor didn’t ask to have him arrested, but she certainly asked for him to leave the meeting.
Once again, Mr. Grapski only proves that he believes that he knows what is best, and that his ends, justify his means as he shows his utter contempt for the rights of others.
The video of this embarrassing scene is available at http://www.alachuatoday.com.
Posted by SJ
posted by Alachua County Republican Party @ 5:10 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
To an outsider, it looks very much as though Mr. Grapski has a thorough knowledge of Florida law and Robert's Rules, whereas his opponents do not.
However, be that as it may, the facts as set out by Mr. Grapski seem clear enough. He has been attempting to exercise his rights as a citizen, rights granted him not only by Florida law but also by the U.S. Constitution. At every possible oppertunity, the city of Alachua, as represented by its employees and officials, has attempted, not only to prevent him from exercising his Constitutionally granted and protected rights, but to frame him as disruptive and a lawbreaker.
I freely admit that I have never visited Alachua, Florida, and that I have no firsthand knowledge of its inner machinations. I do, however, know Mr. Grapski (and count myself fortunate to do so). I know him to be an honest, patriotic, well-informed man, whose actions with regard to Alachua are totally disinterested and unselfish. He has endured slander and rough treatment, not for personal agrandizement, but in the interests of justice, the rule of law, and democracy.
I am one of many outside Alachua and outside Florida keeping a close eye on Mr. Grapski's attempts to bring openness to Alachua. I can assure Mr. Calderwood and all those defending the entrenched powers of Alachua, who feel threatened by Mr. Grapski's actions, that he does not stand alone. Not only does he have right, justice and law on his side, he also has many friends and supporters.
The people of Alachua need to know that they, too, have wellwishers and supporters all over the nation. Alachua cannot intimodate its citizens. Alachua does not opperate outside the U.S. Constitution. And, ultimately, the city officials of Alachua are answerable to the people of Alachua. In Mr. Grapski, they have a formitable champion.
Kerry Elizabeth Thompson
Springfield, Massachusetts
Disabled Americans for Democracy
Mr. Calderwood,
Many fine, upstanding Americans do not feel comfortable saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Some are made uncomfortable by the phrase "under God." Some feel that the Pledge comes perilously close to Idolatry.
I do not know Mr. Grapski's views on this subject. However, if he or any other citizen exercises the right not to say the Pledge of Allegiance, this choice does *not* indicate a lack of patriotism. I trust that your question does not imply any such lack on Mr. Grapski's part.
Mr. Jones,
Thank you for your calm, measured replies to myself and other concerned Deaniacs. I am not necessarily going to change my mind on this matter; but, your presentation of the facts as you see them, without vitriol and insinuation, helps clarify the situation.
I dropped in on a couple of Alachua City Commission meetings back in 2002 when I was a candidate for county office. This was back when there were two commissioners from the ALA, and they were using the Sunshine Laws then as a tool to slow down the meetings and wear people down. All they had was their own suspicions and no evidence to back it up. These meetings went on and on and aggravated the whole community. So I see a pattern here.
A couple of years ago I wanted to get on a county citizens advisory board. The only one that a regular working person could serve on at that time was Parks and Rec., and it met at 5:30 or 6pm. Some of the members there told me that they still knew nothing after serving for over a year because eveything had to be done "in the Sunshine" at that public meeting, which hardly a member of the public ever attended (unless they wanted something). This meant that a handful of professionals and activists with the time to give, or who attended on the clock (paid by GRU, the city, etc.) basically called all the shots. We were forbidden to consult with each other via email (which would have been helpful for the layman who wanted to know the ropes) because it was not "in the Sunshine".
I did a little research and found out that it would be legal for us to use an Internet message board that was advertised on the county website. These "virtual meetings", although we could conduct no votes, would be more public than anything they were currently doing. It would get more citizen input and give voting members a chance to be better briefed when it was time to vote. The pros did not like this and were afraid of too much input. The next meeting, they decided to go back to middle-of-the-day meetings permanently, thus getting rid of me.
I don't believe for a minute that the regular citizen cried out for these Sunshine Laws. They are for special interests and activists who can wear down the layman with paragraph after paragraph of legalese. And it is used very selectively, like Stafford said. They cry out for Sunshine when they want to stop jobs and buisness, but they create artifical light when they only want the semblance of democracy.
Post a Comment
<< Home